k.Capítulo 3
3.5 ¿QUE ES LO QUE DEBE LOGRARSE COMO RESULTADO DE LA MEDICIÓN?
4.21 Vida útil de servicio
The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify what relationship, if any, existed between (a) teachers’ perception of their own dispositions and behaviors that align with National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE) teaching dispositions and California Commission on
Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) standards within the classroom, (b) their students’ perception of teachers’ dispositions and behaviors that align with NCATE
teaching dispositions and CCTC standards within the classroom at ABC School, and (c) whether students’ academic achievement, as measured by their course grades, relates to students’ perception of their teachers’ in-class dispositions and behaviors. This study focused on students in Grades 9 through 12 at ABC School.
Return Rate
On March 16, 2012, the consent letter and survey was placed in the 18 mailboxes of English and Math Teachers at ABC school. The teachers’ response time was 3 days. The student surveys were administered 3 days after the
teachers returned their self-evaluation survey. A total of 746 students were invited to participate. A total of 9 teachers and 312 students participated in this study, for a response rate of 50 % for the teacher surveys and 42% for the student survey. Four of the student’s surveys were discarded because of too many missing answers.
Results of the Survey
The frequency counts from the teacher surveys for selected variables are displayed on Table 2. Of the teacher participants, 44% taught 9th grade students
in English or Math, 56% taught 10th grade students in English or Math, 67% taught 11th grade students in English or Math teachers, and 67% taught 12th grade students in English or Math teacher, For teacher respondents, there were more male participants (56%) than female participants (44%). One teacher had less than 5 years of experience and the other eight (89%) of teacher respondents answered more than 5 years of experience in education.
Table 2
Frequency Counts for Selected Variables: Teacher Survey
________________________________________________________________
Variable Category n %
________________________________________________________________
Grade level taught 9th 4 44
10th 5 56 11th 6 67 12th 6 67 ________________________________________________________________ Gender Male 5 56 Female 4 44 ________________________________________________________________
Years of Experience Less than 5 years 1 11
More than 5 years 8 89
________________________________________________________________
Note. (N = 9). Percentages do not equal 100 for grade level taught, because
multiple responses were possible if teacher taught more than one grade.
The frequency counts from the student survey for selected variables are displayed on Table 3. Student respondents were in 9th grade (16%), 31% of student respondents were in 10th grade, 19% of student respondents were in 11th grade and 33% of student respondents were in 12th grade. There were 56% male participants and 44% were female.
Table 3
Frequency Counts for Selected Variables: Student Survey
________________________________________________________________
Variable Category n %
________________________________________________________________
Grade level of student 9th 51 16
10th 97 31 11th 60 19 12th 104 33 Gender Male 172 56 Female 136 44 ________________________________________________________________ Note. (N = 308) Research Question 1
The survey given to teacher participants asks: What are teachers’
perceptions of their own in-class disposition at ABC School, as measured by the Teacher Disposition Survey which aligns with National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) teaching dispositions and California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) Standards? Table 4 displays descriptive statistics for the questions, which are sorted from highest to lowest mean score. Each teacher participant rated each question on a 5-point scale from 1 = strongly
Table 4
Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Perception Survey Sorted by Highest Mean Score
Questions M SD
7. I typically allow my students to ask questions. 5.00 0.00 2. I believe I treat my students fairly when giving grades. 4.89 0.33 16. I care about my students’ success.
4.89 0.33
1. I believe I treat my students fairly in the classroom. 4.78 0.44
31. I like being a teacher. 4.78 0.44
32. I like my students. 4.78 0.44
6. I typically make my students feel welcomed. 4.67 0.50
24. I listen when students have issues. 4.67 0.50
20. I praise or otherwise give recognition to my students when
they do well. 4.56 0.53
21. I do not allow any students to mistreat other students. 4.56 0.53
23. I show my students that I care. 4.56 0.73
8. I believe I am fair. 4.44 0.73
11. I make my students feel comfortable to speak in class. 4.44 0.73
18. I believe in my students. 4.44 0.53
17. I have confidence in my students’ abilities. 4.33 0.50
3. I believe I treat my students fairly when asking questions. 4.22 0.44 5. I interact with my students one-on-one regularly. 4.22 0.97 19. I differentiate instruction for students who may have
trouble understanding the lessons. 4.22 0.83
25. I tend to be pleasant. 4.22 1.09
14. I help my students when they have problems. 4.11 1.27
22. My students know they can trust me. 4.11 1.05
30. I believe my students like me. 3.89 0.60
4. I believe I receive a fair response when students ask
questions. 3.78 0.44
27. I treat all students the same. 3.44 1.42
Questions M SD
28. I may embarrass students at times. 3.11 0.93
10. I sometimes I find myself ignoring certain students. 2.33 1.32 9. I often teach to only a select group in class that seems
motivated to learn. 2.22 1.20
15. My attitude in the classroom does not affect the student’s
academic performance. 2.11 1.17
26. I tend to be angry or hostile at times. 2.11 1.17
12. I sometimes display non-verbal behaviors that may make
the students feel uncomfortable. 2.00 1.32
13. I treat some students unfairly sometimes. 1.89 0.93
29. I sometimes take my emotions out on students. 1.89 1.27
Note. (N = 308). Ratings based on 5-point scale: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.
Item 7, “I typically allow my students to ask questions,” was the highest rated (M = 5.00), along with item 2, “I believe I treat my students fairly when giving grades“ (M = 4.89). Rating lowest was item 2, “I sometimes take my emotions out on students” (M = 1.89) and item 13 and “I treat some students unfairly sometimes” (M = 1.89; see Table 4).
Table 5
Summated Scale Scores for Teacher Perception Characteristics
________________________________________________________________ Scale Score Number of Items M SD Low High _______________________________________________________________
Fairness scale 14 4.06 0.43 3.29 4.43
Belief scale 10 4.34 0.30 3.80 4.70 Perceptions scale 8 3.92 0.53 2.88 4.50 Total 32 4.11 0.40 3.34 4.53
Note. (N = 9). Table 5 shows the summated scores (3 subscales and 1 total
scale) for the teacher perception survey based on the 32 survey questions. The four teacher self-perception ratings were from M = 3.92 to M = 4.11 on a 5-point scale.
Research Question 2
The student survey asked: What are students’ perceptions of their teachers’ in-class disposition at ABC School, as measured by the Student Perception Survey, which aligns with NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC Standards? Table 6 shows descriptive statistics for the 32 student survey questions sorted from highest mean score to lowest mean score. The ratings were based on a 5-point metric scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly
agree).
Table 6
Descriptive Statistics for Student Perception Survey Ratings Sorted from Highest to Lowest
________________________________________________________________ Questions M SD ________________________________________________________________
10. I believe my teacher ignores me a 4.15 1.00
1. I believe my teacher treats me fairly in the classroom 4.08 1.08 4. I believe I receive a fair response when asking
questions 4.03 1.00
3. I believe my teacher is fair when asking questions 4.02 1.00
7. I am always able to ask questions 4.00 1.09
2. I believe my teacher treats me fairly when giving
grades 3.98 1.09
14.I believe my teacher helps me when I have problems 3.95 1.08
5. My teacher interacts with me regularly 3.92 1.04
12. My teacher does things that make me feel
uncomfortable a 3.92 1.19
24. My teacher listens when I have a concern 3.91 1.02
21. My teacher does not allow other students to mistreat
me 3.89 0.94
11. I don't feel comfortable to speak in class 3.89 1.12
Question M SD
31. My teacher seems to like being a teacher 3.87 1.03
30. I like my teacher 3.87 1.16
6. My teacher always makes me feel welcomed 3.85 1.12
23. I believe my teacher is caring 3.85 1.01
16. I believe my teacher cares about my success 3.85 1.10
20. My teacher praises or recognizes me when I do well. 3.84 1.04
8. I believe my teacher is fair 3.81 1.11
32. I believe my teacher likes me 3.78 1.09
18. My teacher believes in me. 3.78 1.06
17. My teacher shows me that he or she has confidence
in me. 3.74 1.08
22. My teacher is someone I can trust 3.73 1.16
25. My teacher is pleasant. 3.72 1.14
26. My teacher is angry or hostile. a 3.71 1.17
15. My teacher's attitudes affect my academic
performance a 3.65 1.19
19. My teacher makes sure I understand the lessons 3.63 1.18 13. I believe my teacher treats some students unfairly. a 3.50 1.31 9. I believe my teacher teaches some students more
than others in class a 3.42 1.25
28. My teacher embarrasses students a 3.40 1.30
29. My teacher takes his or her emotions out on
students a 3.29 1.31
27. My teacher treats all students the same a 3.28 1.26
Note. (N = 308) 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. a
Negatively worded items where strongly disagree was the most favorable answer.
The highest rated statements were Item 10, [reverse scored], “I believe my teacher ignores me” (M = 4.15) and Item 1, “I believe my teacher treats me fairly in the classroom” (M = 4.08). The lowest rated items were Item 27, “My teacher
treats all students the same” (M = 3.28) and Item 29, “My teacher takes his or her emotions out on students” (M = 3.29).
Table 7 shows the summated scores (3 subscales and 1 total scale) for the student perception survey based on the 32 survey questions. Cronbach reliability coefficients ranged from .88 to .97, with the highest being .97 for Scale 4: Total for all survey questions with .88 being the lowest for Perceptions.
Table 7
Summated Scale Scores for Student Perception Characteristics
________________________________________________________________ Score Number of Items M SD Low High Alpha
________________________________________________________________ Fairness 14 3.80 .77 1.71 5.00 .91 Belief 10 3.82 .83 1.40 5.00 .92 Perceptions 8 3.73 .85 1.25 5.00 .88 Total 32 3.79 .77 1.72 5.00 .97 Note. (N = 308) Research Question 3
Is there a relationship between (a) teachers’ perceptions of their own dispositions as measured by the Teacher Disposition Survey and (b) students’ perception of their teacher’s disposition as measured by the Student Perception Survey? The four subscales scores for the teachers were compared to the four equivalent subscale scores for the students. The specific correlations are as follows: fairness (r = -.18, p = .001), belief (r = .06, p = .26), Perception (r = .17, p = .002) and total perception (r = -.03, p = .64). Scale 1: Fairness showed a
significant negative correlation (r = -.18, p = .001). The Teacher’s perception of fairness is different than the student perception of fairness (r = -.18, p =.001).
For Scale 2: Belief, there was no significant relationship between Teachers belief score and students belief score (r = .06, p = .26). Scale 3: Perceptions, there is a significant positive correlation between the teacher’s perception score and the student’s perception score (r = .17, p = .002). For Scale 4, the total scale shows there is no significant relationship between the teachers total score and the students total score (r = -.03, p = .64).
Research Question 4
Is there a relationship between average students’ course grades and their perceptions of teachers’ dispositions as measured by the student grades from ABC School and the Student Perception Survey? To answer this question, the student’s first semester grade was correlated with the four scale scores and the 32 perception ratings. For the resulting 36 correlations, nine were significant at the p < .05 level. The three largest correlations were the student’s grade with: Item 29, “My teacher takes his or her emotions out on students” (r = -.24, p = .001), Item 9, “I believe that my teacher teaches some students more than others in class” (r = -.16, p = .006), and Item 7, “I am always able to ask questions” (r = .14, p = .01).
Additional Findings
The student’s grade level (9th to 12th) was correlated with the four scale scores and the 32 perception ratings. For the resulting 36 correlations, 28 were significant at the p < .05 level. The three largest correlations were the student’s grade level with: Item 2, I believe my teacher treats me fairly when giving grades” (r = .28, p = .001), Item 22, “My teacher is someone I can trust” (r = .27, p = .001), and Item 30, I like my teacher (r = .26, p = .001).
Chapter 5: Discussion
The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify what relationship, if any, exists between (a) teachers’ perception of their own dispositions and behaviors that align with NCATE teaching dispositions and California CCTC standards within the classroom, (b) their students’ perception of teachers’ dispositions and behaviors that align with NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC standards within the classroom at ABC School, and (c) whether students’ academic achievement, as measured by their course grades, relates to students’ perception of their teachers’ in-class dispositions and behaviors.
This last chapter will summarize the study design, report research findings and evaluate the findings in comparison to prior research. This chapter will also describe the limitations of this study and implications of further studies.
Summary of the Design
Teacher participants (N = 9) were asked to take the Teacher Disposition Survey (Appendix B) and student participants (N = 308) were asked to take the Student Perception Survey (Appendix C). Both surveys were created by the researcher. The Teacher Disposition survey and Student Perception Survey was created based on the two primary dispositions from the NCATE, fairness and the belief that every child can learn.
The researcher distributed to the English and math teachers a uniquely coded packet with the following: (a) Informed Consent Letter to Teachers (Appendix B) and (b) Teachers Disposition Survey (Appendix C). Informed Letters of Consent to Parents were distributed along with the Student Letter of Assent to students. Of the 18 teacher envelopes distributed, 9 completed
surveys were returned. Of the 746 surveys distributed, 312 surveys were returned. Four of the student’s surveys were discarded because of too many missing answers. There was a 50% response rate for the teacher surveys and 42% for the student survey.
Summary of Findings
Research question 1. What are teachers’ perceptions of their own in-
class disposition at ABC School, as measured by the Teacher Disposition Survey which aligns with NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC Standards as
measured by the 32-item Teacher Disposition Survey? The data set for this research question was drawn from the Teacher Disposition Survey created by the researcher. According to the 4 subscales, the mean scores were Fairness, M = 4.06, Belief M = 4.34, Verbal/non verbal dispositions, M = 3.92 and the total scale M = 4.11. The highest self-rated item was belief with a mean of 4.34. There were 10 questions teachers answered dealing with Belief that the students can learn.
The highest rated item among the teachers was item 16, “I care about my students success” (M = 4.89). Items 20, 21 and 23 were tied with a mean of 4.56, “I praise or otherwise give recognition to my students when they do well,” “I do not allow any students to mistreat other students,” and “I show my students that I care.” The lowest rated items were item 13, “I treat some students unfairly” (M = 1.89, reversed scored) and item 10, “I sometimes find myself ignoring certain students” (M = 2.33).
According to Akiyama (2009) when discussing teacher beliefs, the research showed that teacher education begins with the personal beliefs and
past experiences of the individual, which shape ideas and perceptions. The response to this subscale shows that the teachers believe in a level of respect for their students as well as their personal belief in their education and their job in teaching their students.
The lowest rated items, Item 13 and Item 10, show that the teacher respondents were in agreement that they believe they treat the students fairly and they do not to ignore students. However, it may be necessary for a teacher to briefly ignore a student who is exhibiting poor behavior when trying to teach in order to prevent class disruption.
The lowest rated subscale was perception (M = 3.92). This subscale included eight items. The highest rated was item 31, “I like being a teacher” (M = 4.78) and item 32, “I like my students” (M = 4.78). The lowest rated item within this subscale was item 29 (M = 1.89; reversed score), “I sometimes take my emotions out on students” and Item 26 (M = 2.11), “I tend to be angry or hostile at times.” Baloğlu (2009) found in his research that most teachers, though they face normal fears of failure, are reasonable and committed to their careers.
Teachers are human and may sometime carry their personal issues into the classroom however most go to work with the best intentions. Many teachers can separate their personal life from work but some cannot. The response to these items in this subscale aligns with how a teacher should operate within a classroom according to the NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC Standards.
Research question 2. What are students’ perceptions of their teachers’
in-class disposition at ABC School, as measured by the Student Perception Survey, which aligns with NCATE teaching dispositions and CCTC Standards?
The data set for this research question was drawn from the Student Perception Survey created by the researcher. According to the 4 subscales, the mean scores were fairness, M = 3.80, belief M = 3.82, perception, M = 3.73 and the total scale M = 3.79. The highest self-rated item was belief with a mean of 3.82. There were 10 questions students answered dealing with belief that the students can learn.
The highest rated item among the students was item 10, “I believe my teacher ignores me” (M = 4.15.) The results show that the students agreed that with the statement. When students perceive the Teachers are available to help them it builds positive teacher student relationships. Teachers however are under tremendous pressures to meet district or state educational requirements and have limited time to pay attention to the personal needs of students.
Studies show that when there is a strong student-to-teacher relationship, the student shows progress for years to come (Walker et al., 2009; Wong et al., 2002). Conversely, the lack of teacher support results in negative student
perception, negative attitude, and lack of interest toward learning. Therefore, the students may perceive a lack of support from their teachers.
The lowest rated item within the Belief Subscale for Students was item 13, “I believe the teacher treats some students unfairly” (M = 3.50) and item 19, “My teacher makes sure I understand the lessons” (M = 3.63). The findings suggest that students may feel that teachers do not always take their time when
addressing students or making sure the student understands the lesson.
Teachers are under constant pressure to pace their lesson according the state guidelines. The fact that teachers are required to move at a certain pace to
cover a certain lesson, students might perceive this negatively. This perception may appear as if the teacher is not taking the time to make sure that the student thoroughly understands the lesson. The teacher may be trying to cover materials as required by the pacing plan or standard course of study. Additionally, some students may feel that certain students are being called on more than others. This behavior may be seen by a student as unfair treatment. The findings suggest that the disposition of belief of a student’s ability to learn is being accurately perceived and being displayed by the teachers in the classroom.
The lowest rated subscale from the student survey was perceptions (M = 3.73). The highest rated items within the perception subscale was item 11, “I don't feel comfortable to speak in class” (M = 3.89). Also rated highly was item 30, “I like my teacher” and item 31, “my teacher seems to like being a teacher” (M = 3.87 for both). The data set suggests that the perception of the teacher is one that is positive in that the teacher is likable and they like their job. However, the data set shows that the students do not feel comfortable speaking in class.
Walker et al. (2009) reported when students are comfortable in a setting, they feel included and are more likely to focus on the learning process and their abilities that make that understanding possible. So although the students
perceive their teacher as likeable and someone who likes their job, they may not be comfortable enough to focus on the learning process and fully understand subject matter.
The lowest rated item in the perception subscale was item 29, “My teacher takes his or her emotions out on students” (M = 3.29). The findings of this item suggest that some students felt the teacher displayed certain emotions in class
and some did not. These emotions could have been positive or negative emotions however student could perceive them either way.
Baloğlu (2009) discussed negative teacher behavior in the classroom and clarified that classroom management was as much about the teacher as it is the student. In this study of perceived negative behaviors of teachers, students perceived such things as the way a teacher dresses and favoritism being shown toward female students as negative. Though debatable, these things as
perceived by the student are real to them and can make the student uncomfortable in the classroom setting according to the data.
Research question 3. Is there a relationship between (a) teachers’
perception of their own disposition as measured by the Teacher Disposition Survey and (b) students’ perception of their teacher’s disposition as measured by the Student Perception Survey? For research question 3, in addition to
descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis was applied to examine
possible relationships between teacher’s perception of their teaching dispositions and student’s perception of the teachers’ verbal and non-verbal behaviors and how they relate to the NCATE teaching dispositions. For scale 1, fairness showed a significant negative correlation (r = -.18, p = .001). Teachers thought that they were fair whereas students thought differently. This could be due to several factors.
Mitchell et al. (2010) found that teacher’s perception of the school